Finally... an Ampeg rig that I truly enjoyed...

[esoxhntr]

I have never been an Ampeg fan. I don't bash the stuff - it's just not my flavour. I have owned numerous Ampeg amps and cabs, just could never make them work for me, particularly on stage. I've owned a V4-B, SVT, SVT pro (3 I think), some other solid state Ampeg amp, I've used them on supplied backlines, heck I even had a beautiful 1964 B-15N. Not a single one stayed with me for more than a year. The B-15N was great in rehearsal but not up to gigs. The solid state amps lacked oomph and character. The tube amps had this weird midrange honk, bloaty bass, and really only seemed suitable for certain genres of music.

So... when I walked into the gig yesterday and saw an SVT Classic and Ampeg cabs I was less than enthused. I could have walked out to the car and grabbed my trusty GK Legacy, but it was cold out, and a super full arena parking lot made for a long uncomfortable walk, and we were on a bit of a timeline. I decided that given the circumstances, I could probably get along for a two hour gig. As it turns out, a wise decision...

For starters, the amp was already on when we started the sound check. No big deal, those tubes were throwing some nice heat and made a great hand warmer inside a slightly chilly venue. It's the little things, right? So after getting my hands comfy, I pull out the gear and get ready to play some stuff for the sound check. To my surprise...
no midrange honk... slightly bloaty bass easily resolved with the EQ (not my usual experience), a warm punchy tone to die for, and scale to fill the space without being overpowering or not out of control. A thoroughly wicked rig - the sound that so many have read about here was finally mine to enjoy... if only for an afternoon.

Did it have with pedals? Oh my... it sounded epic with an Octobvre.
Was it clean? Yup.
Was it dirty? It could have gotten that way, but not what I do.
Could I play quietly and loudly. For sure.
Did it work for different genres? You betcha. Even slap bass sounded wicked through this thing.

Am I a convert? Partially... in my mind I'd love to own an SVT classic. But they are expensive and impractical (which really means heavy... or... which means really heavy), and any classic is going to be at least 20 years old, so... but I loved playing through it. Still sceptical of using other Ampegs, but this rig was a total winner. I'd appreciate if someone could identify the model of cabs - like I said, we were on a timeline and I didn't get a chance to get behind the rig and take a photo.

 

[Wasnex]

Sounds like you had a great gig!

I would caution against drawing a conclusion based on one gig. IME, it's pretty rare to get a really great bass sound on stage. When it happens it's typically due to an unexpected gestalt involving the favorable alignment of multiple factors that are beyond one's control. I.E. a happy accident. The bass rig may have been a relevant factor or not. Try the same rig in a different setting and you may think it sucks.

 

[Stylee Mousse]

I used a SLM era SVT-CL for about 8 years in the ‘90s. I liked mine quite a bit, nice solid kinda incandescent tone. No looseness at all, minimal distortion at reasonable levels.

I used 2 single 15 cabs loaded with D-140s, not fridge cabs.

 

[coreyfyfe]

Am I a convert? Partially... in my mind I'd love to own an SVT classic. But they are expensive and impractical (which really means heavy... or... which means really heavy), and any classic is going to be at least 20 years old, so... but I loved playing through it. Still sceptical of using other Ampegs, but this rig was a total winner. I'd appreciate if someone could identify the model of cabs - like I said, we were on a timeline and I didn't get a chance to get behind the rig and take a photo.

Why would a classic be 20 years old? They're still in production either as the import model or the assembled in US heritage model.

Hard to tell on the cabs. Maybe it's just my eyes but is the top cab larger than the bottom cab? If this is the case, maybe a 410HE and a 115HE on bottom in the road case. If they're the same size likely either a pair of 410HLF or 410HE depending on if ported or sealed, respectively.

The eq on the SVT is a james bass/treble and an active mid. It should be fairly flat when set at noon. The amp overall is usually considered to have somewhat of a low-mid hump around 400Hz or so, so maybe that's the honky area you're hearing? Could try cutting a little there. There are some plots here, though they're done with a vintage SVT not an SVT-CL. The CL is basically just channel 1 with a simplified design.

Post in thread 'Confused: The Ampeg SVT sound and the low-mids thing'

May 1, 2018

I knew these would come in handy again some day. These are measurements of my SVT that I did some time ago:

Channel one, ultra switches out, EQ flat. I think I set it up for 10W into the load but I can't remember exactly. It's pretty flat. As you increase power I think you'd see the low end begin to roll off a bit.

SVT_CH1_FLAT

• Mark Reccord
• Feb 2, 2017

Channel one, Ultra low in the + position. This is quite mid-scooped and I think the "SVT" setting on the Tech 21 stuff is based on the ultra-lo being engaged.

SVT_CH1_UL+

• Mark Reccord
• Feb 2, 2017

• Mark Reccord

• 

The cabs on the other hand tend to be very colored. Not everyone likes them. I prefer my SVT on other cabs but did use it with an 810 for a long time. I would eq differently for an 810 than I would a 212 for example.

 

[J-Bass RMR]

it's pretty rare to get a really great bass sound on stage. When it happens it's typically due to an unexpected gestalt in involving the favorable alignment of multiple factors that are beyond one's control

+1

 

[esoxhntr]

Why would a classic be 20 years old? They're still in production either as the import model or the assembled in US heritage model.

Oops... Let's just put that down to bad post-gig research. But I'll stand by my comment about heavy and expensive. 30 year old me might have seen (okay, actually DID see) the logic, current me tries to justify it and then giggles thinking about trying to lift the darn thing after a gig.

 

[esoxhntr]

Sounds like you had a great gig!

I would caution against drawing a conclusion based on one gig. IME, it's pretty rare to get a really great bass sound on stage. When it happens it's typically due to an unexpected gestalt involving the favorable alignment of multiple factors that are beyond one's control. I.E. a happy accident. The bass rig may have been a relevant factor or not. Try the same rig in a different setting and you may think it sucks.

It was a lot of fun - semi-full production, good crew, large stage, big audience. I would tend to agree with you on not jumping to conclusions, and I certainly won't, but... despite the short time line, I did have a reasonable amount of opportunity to experiment with the amp, and quite liked like it on its own without any PA support going on. If I ever run across a duplicate of the rig in a music store, I'll certainly give it a workout. I was just glad to have the positive Ampeg experience that I've heard so much about.

 

[jnewmark]

I've always liked the SVT rig when it's backline on some larger, outdoor gigs. Its a great, "big" stage sound for bass and I usually don't tweak it too much, unless the player before me turned all the dials to the extremes. Practically? Not these days, weight and gig wise.

 

[pbass2]

I came up when backline was almost always either an SVT or GK800RB. I always preferred the GK for what I perceived as immediacy and punch (vs that bloaty vibe of the SVT as you say). Still do actually--I too use a Legacy now for my own rig. That said for rock n roll, maybe some americana/country the SVT is fun. Really don't love it if the gig is at all funky in nature, or if I need to get clanky/punky.

 

[Bass4ThePublic]

Yeah. If I had a gig like that through a rig like that I would have zero complaints.


The ONLY time I’ve played through an ampeg stack like that is at house supplied backlines, and man what a tone.

 

[coreyfyfe]

Oops... Let's just put that down to bad post-gig research. But I'll stand by my comment about heavy and expensive. 30 year old me might have seen (okay, actually DID see) the logic, current me tries to justify it and then giggles thinking about trying to lift the darn thing after a gig.

Heavy for sure. I like my SVT. I haven’t taken it out for a gig in probably close to a decade now. I think I used it at a rehearsal once a few years ago. Mostly it just lives in its road case.

 

[Hurricane Jimmie]

The B-15N was great in rehearsal but not up to gigs.

So Anyway, I ended up with 2 B-15's about 20 years ago. And as nice as they were in my music room, they were just impractical for the gigs I was playing...mostly due to the weight. I had used an old FlipTop cabinet with a Carvin 15" for several years with a SS Ampeg B2R head. It was a nice setup. I think there's some voodoo in those cabinet baffles.

I've never played at the arena level, but any time there's a bass amp available that I don't have to move, that's my favorite amp.

 

[SC Bassboy]

It's hard to say based on the picture, but I think the rig was a SVT-CL paired with two 4x10 cabs. They look about the size/shape of the Ampeg 4x10 cabs I've owned. A lot of the mid-range honk you mentioned noticing in the past might have been the cabs. Personally, I've never cared for the Ampeg fridge. They are loud, but not great IMO. The Heritage line is killer.

 

[ahbradot]

That stack looks like a beautiful beast!

 

[SpyderX]

That stack looks like a beautiful beast!

Yep - love it - looking like serious business

 

[logdrum]

I have never been an Ampeg fan.

And proceeds to list at least 5 Ampeg amps, that he owned

I was a fan with just the CL not even a fridge and having used B15 in studios, Still am if I have those gigs again. If there is a B15 and they can mic in a studio, I will not even turn on my amp and or preamp. I am ampegless now except for a Classic pedal but I like them. (The V4-B deal over December did not pan out)

Glad it worked for you

 

[esoxhntr]

And proceeds to list at least 5 Ampeg amps, that he owned

Well, I tried, right?

 

[bobyoung53]

Cabs are most likely two 410's. I've been using SVTs for more years than I care to count. Always start out with all tones at 12 o'clock and switches in the middle in a new room and it doesn't take a lot to change the tone, I almost always end up with mid and bass switches switch set in the middle with bright switch on. I use various Ampeg cabs with them from a single 4 ohm 15" to two 810 cabs. I also just pulled the trigger on a Genzler 410 which have interested me for a long time. The pots go a long way, rarely turn any of them more the from 10 -2 o'clock. It's easy to get mud city with the bass knob way up but it's not the amp's fault, when SVT's first came out a lot of people thought they were the best in the business, some still do.

 

[esoxhntr]

Cabs are most likely two 410's. I've been using SVTs for more years than I care to count. Always start out with all tones at 12 o'clock and switches in the middle in a new room and it doesn't take a lot to change the tone, I almost always end up with mid and bass switches switch set in the middle with bright switch on. I use various Ampeg cabs with them from a single 4 ohm 15" to two 810 cabs. I also just pulled the trigger on a Genzler 410 which have interested me for a long time. The pots go a long way, rarely turn any of them more the from 10 -2 o'clock. It's easy to get mud city with the bass knob way up but it's not the amp's fault, when SVT's first came out a lot of people thought they were the best in the business, some still do.

I ended up with the Bright switch on, the Deep switch off, treble set to 1:30, mids at 12:00, bass at about noon... which got pulled back to 9:30 when the PA was brought up to speed. Mid selector switch ended up on 4. Dialling in the tone was a breeze, which previously was not the case with pretty much any other Ampeg setup I've ever used. I was knocked out by how easy it was to make this setup perform. It makes me wonder if the SVT 4 Pro is similar enough to give it a go. It's cheaper and lighter, but I'm guessing sounds very different.

 

[Mastermold]

I’ve been using two SVT-CL heads for the past two decades. Love how they sound so I keep taking them to gigs when I can. I’ve got a Genz Benz Streamliner when that’s a better fit, gets a heft similar to the SVT.